Monday: Speak thee positively about Astros Day

Therefore, by the power invested in me as the official host of the Astros Fan Blog, I declare that no bleak, negative or otherwise cynical comments may be made about the Houston Astros, their players or management between now and midnight Monday, May 10, 2010.

Speak thee positively, encouragingly with favor and hope throughout the time allotted.

Here are the things going right for the Astros in 2010:

Roy Oswalt.

Say what you will about the quality start stat, but when you put up seven of ’em in a row, it screams louder than any naysayer. After going six innings in each of his first two starts, he pitched seven innings in the next five and then eight innings in his Sunday start. With a little luck — and some offense — he could be 7-0 and headed for his first Cy Young (that wasn’t negative was it?).

Matt Lindstrom.

You can’t get more for your $1.5 million than Lindstrom is giving you right now. In 14 games and 15 IP, he has six saves and a 4-1 K-BB ratio.

Brett Myers.

The good moments easily outweight those negative moments. If he continues, he’ll turn in 200 IP and may develop into the Astros’ #2. So far, looking worth every penny of the $3.1 million off season deal.

Felipe Paulino.

Is he perhaps the best 0-5 starter in the majors? His ERA has dropped almost three points since his second start and has 19 Ks and only 4 walks over his last two games. Certainly he’s had mixed reviews, but after allowing nine earned runs in his first two games of 2010, he’s given up only nine in his last four starts.

Michael Bourn.

You can’t talk about the “right” things without including Mr. Highlight reel. Yes, his average has dipped, but he’s the closest thing to excitement the Astros put on the field everyday, whether on offense or defense.

Chris Sampson.

He doesn’t get the glamour nods or perhaps the Miguel Tejada spotlights, but he’s quietly returned from the “dead” of last year’s demotion to Round Rock. In 13 appearances, he’s pieced together a nifty 1.38 ERA.

Jeff Fulchino.

Take away one poor outing (4 ERs in his second game of the season against SF) and Fulchino has been virtually spotless. If you leave out that one game, he’s turned in 11 IP with only one earned run.

Jeff Keppinger.

He carried the water at second base and shortstop, although he’s tailed off of late. Expected to be a role player prior to the season, he’s second on the team in doubles (8, behind Bourn’s 9), third in RBI (9) and second in walks (8).

So, with so many things going “right” why has so much gone wrong? We’ll hold that thought until another day, after the moratorium on bleak, negative or otherwise cynical comments has been lifted.

What do you or anyone here think about Jayson Werth in 2011? I’m almost positive that Carlos Lee will not be an Astro by 2011 and I have to think Ed is going to want to replace Carlos with one of his ex players.

What do you think? Personally I would like to see Bogusevic get a shot in 2010, but that’s just me.

Chip, Have you seen this video of “Rojo” Johnson, pitching for the Round Rock Express. I came by it while looking at viral videos online. This is hilarious, so I thought I should share it with the rest of the Astros community.

As luck would have it…have to spend a couple of days in LA on business later this month. (When I lived in Cali, I was in the LA area every month). The Astros leave town on the 18th and I get there on the 19th – missed it by that much (thumb and fore finger an inch apart).

Brad Mills: You can’t ask for more in a person. He is a true honorable man, great lider…a great person period! The players are the ones who are dragging their butts…not him! (the players meaning: Pence, Lee, Berkman, Feliz)

Sampson, Lindstrom, Lyon, Keppinger: Not flashy, not glamorous, no body said they look bigger, they did not go for a live stock parade, they are not saying that they will consider to be trade, they are not being interviewed by viral columninsts from the Chronicle…but they are really tough, hard nose, real baseball players who put their hearts everytime they go out!

On the side: Blum…such a fine guy, good team player, and he is batting…

On a positive note, it was great that they won yesterday. Mostly because they’ll ptobably lose their next six against STL and SF. But that’s about it. a 2-5 homestand agaisnt one of the worst pitching teams in the league (Arizona) and one of the worst hitting team in the league (Padres). Now they face two of the best pitching teams in the league who can also hit a little.

The next month and a half is about auditions for Oswalt and Berkman and anyone else we can move. That’s a positive.

This team has played 2/3 of its games at home and has lost 2/3 of its games. Not exactly a recipe for success. This road trip should effectively end the season. Facing Carpenter, Lincecum and Zito (a combined 13-0) Meanwhile, Penny and Lohse are better than who we have facing them and even Wellmeyer, the worst pitcher we’ll face, only has to beat Paulino. Not sure who’s going in the Dodger’s series, but a split is proabbaly all we can hope for. It would be a victory to come back 3-5 from this trip and hold on to our .333 win percentage. More likely we’ll have another 8-game losing streak to our credit – an area in which we lead the league.

The Astros signed wwitch-hitting shortstop Jean Carlos Batista, according to the Dominican Prospect League site.

Batista reportedly led the league in average and led his team in every offensive category for most of the DPL’s season. Last year, Kiley McDaniel at Baseball Prospectus labeled Batista a “five-tool talent” and reported heavy interest in the prospect.

What about “B.Lyon”, He has been solid too. I still belive that this team can be better, we just need a few more moves. Send Matsui and Sullivan to the minors, and move up Shelton and Bugosevic or Burgueois. And we can give more time to blum at second.

Felipe Paulino is really learning to pitch! His willingness to use pitches other than his fastball and his command of them has been excellent. While he is still a young pitcher in terms of mlb experience and is bound to have his struggles, he is proving worthy of the patience shown. I am pleased to see someone give Sampson some ink. He has been very good. He was very good last year before he was, like much of the pitching staff, mishandled by the previous manager. And Roy is Roy again.

Here – let me take a Zoloft or two and tell you those things that make me feel good at this point.

– I was practically ecstatic when Hunter hit the ball sharply the other way in his first at bat Sunday. This led to his long dinger to center followed by his game winning double. Hitting sharply the other way or back up the middle is usually a good sign of slump busting.

– Bourn is one of those players worth paying to see. Even with his BA coming down a little – his defense seems to be improving – especially on the jumps and the path to the ball. He made another gorgeous catch on Sunday – outrunning a bullet into deep right-center. A thing of beauty.

– After wondering the last couple years if Roy O was running out of gas – his strong start has given me hope that he has a lot more in the tank. His K/9 is way up, his hits/9 and WHIP are way down – in the vicinity of his terrific rookie year and his ERA is very strong.

– Without the Astros squeaking out two walk-off wins on the homestand kept they would have lost 13 in a row. That is a positive – right?

– Myers had the potential to be a younger version of Hampton/Ortiz – but he has been a real bulldog out there and the second best starter to date. Paulino has started to put it together and sure has the stuff to be more than a 4th or 5th starter.

– The skipper getting kicked out seemed to kick start the team as they came back from what seemed to be an insurmountable 3-0 lead (see Bill Holmes post on the ‘Stro recent hitting) to end the homestand on a positive.

– I know it will seem blasphemous – but along with Lindstrom’s fine start – Lyon has righted his ship since a very bad few outings in the beginning and they seem to be giving us a good 1-2 punch at the end of the games.

– Q’s .245 BA qualifies as the 3rd highest of the regular lineup – don’t get a nosebleed Q from reaching those heights.

– The Astros normal starting 8 – now has reached double digits in total HR’s. Progress is progress!

– While the Astros have a low rank in many offensive categories they are 3rd in the NL in avoiding being caught stealing. On the pitching side they are 4th in HR’s allowed and BB’s allowed.

– As the Monty Python players would sing – “Keep on the sunny side of life.”

With the track records of Lee, Pence, and Berkman, I don’t think that this team will finish as bad as it started. If the pitching holds up, and Bourn and Keppinger continue to contribute the way they have, they could wind up being respectable.